Wireless communication devices, such as mobile telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), have become commonplace in today's society. In particular, the demand for smaller/thinner wireless communication devices has increased. However, as the demand for small devices has increased so has the demand for a variety of services to be performed by these devices. Thus, the size of a wireless communications device can only be made so small and still provide all the desired services. The size of these devices is often determined by the size of the display, battery, and antenna volume needed to satisfy antenna radiated performance requirements imposed by carriers.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, if the size of the antenna(s) in the wireless communication device 150 is not taken into consideration, the size of the wireless communication device 150 can be made relatively equivalent to the size occupied by the display, for example, liquid crystal display (LCD) 108, the metallic frame 185 used to keep the wireless communications device 150 mechanically rigid and robust, and the battery 180 as illustrated. As further illustrated, the printed circuit board (PCB) 170 fits within the total thickness (HTotal) of the wireless communications device 150, which is defined by the thickness (Ha) of the battery 180 and the thickness (HLCD) of the LCD display 108. The length (L) and the width (W) of the LCD display 108 can be scaled accordingly.
However, when antenna performance matters, which is typically does, the overall size of the device often increases. Increased antenna performance is typically necessary to satisfy the increase in demand for services provided by the wireless communication device 150. Most conventional antenna designs typically require more volume, for example, more distance between the ground plane, such as the PCB 170 and the LCD frame of the device 150.